Methodology for the evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program

Gibbs, Lisa; Staiger, Petra K.; Townsend, Mardie; Macfarlane, Susie; Gold, Lisa; Block, Karen; Johnson, B.; Kulas, Jenny; Waters, Elizabeth

doi:10.1071/he12905

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…This suggestion is supported within existing community garden literature [3, 37, 46, 73]. Other scholars have reiterated the point that long term and larger scale study designs are required [50, 74]. Surls [75] mentioned this needs to involve action research with more consistent research protocols, data gathering and analysis processes so that community gardening research can be compared and contrasted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“You feel like you’re part of something bigger”: exploring motivations for community garden participation in Melbourne, Australia

Kingsley¹,

Foenander²,

Bailey³

2019

BMC Public Health

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Background Increased global urbanisation has led to public health challenges. Community gardens are identified as a mechanism for addressing socio-ecological determinants of health. This study aims to explore motives for joining community gardens, and the extent to which participation can be facilitated given barriers and enablers to community gardening. Such a study fills a gap in the public health literature, particularly in the Australian context. Methods This paper presents findings from semi-structured interviews with 23 participants from 6 community gardens across Melbourne. Applying phenomenological, epistemological and reflexive methodologies and thematic analysis of the data, this study provides a snapshot of drivers of community garden participation. Results Results were categorised into six enabling themes to participation. These themes revolved around (i) family history, childhood and passion for gardening; (ii) productive gardening, sustainability and growing fresh produce in nature; (iii) building social and community connections; (iv) community and civic action; (v) stress relief; and (vi) building identity, pride and purpose. Time costs incurred, garden governance and vandalism of garden spaces were among the barriers to community garden participation. Conclusion Although an interest in the act of gardening itself may be universally present among community gardeners to varying degrees, the findings of this study suggest that motivations for participation are diverse and span a range of ancestral, social, environmental, and political domains. This study contributes exploratory insights on community garden motivations and sustained involvement across multiple urban sites in Melbourne (Australia). This study recommends extending this work by undertaking future quantitative research that can move from local case studies to a national guidelines on how to engage more people in urban agriculture activities like community gardening. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7108-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“You feel like you’re part of something bigger”: exploring motivations for community garden participation in Melbourne, Australia

Kingsley¹,

Foenander²,

Bailey³

2019

BMC Public Health

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“…This paper reports on the findings arising from the qualitative data component of a mixed methods research project conducted between 2006 and 2009. A description of the full project and its methods can be found in Gibbs et al (2012). At the time the project began, a total of 22 primary schools were involved in the SAKG program.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volunteering in a School Kitchen Garden Program: Cooking Up Confidence, Capabilities, and Connections!

et al. 2012

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This paper reports on the evaluation of a kitchen garden program in primary schools in Victoria, Australia. It focuses on the motivations, impacts and issues associated with volunteering in the program. The study revealed that volunteers are drawn from a range of sources, including: families of current and former students, former teachers, local residents, clients of aged care and/or disability services, other schools and communities, local universities, community organizations, the community services sector and the corporate sector. Benefits to volunteers included: opportunities to use time productively, an increased sense of belonging, learning opportunities, and an increased sense of self-worth and enjoyment. For schools, volunteers enhanced engagement between the school and the local community, enabled them to engage more effectively with hard to reach groups and increased student engagement. In addition, the involvement of volunteers improved the sustainability of the program, improved communication between teachers and families of students from minority ethnic groups, and gave students the chance to relate to new people, to learn from their experience and to have fun in working with the volunteers. Perhaps the most telling benefits to flow both to students and to volunteers were not the 'three Rs -reading, w'riting and a'rithmetic' but the three Cs -confidence, capabilities and connections. However, a clearly identified issue was the importance of matching volunteers' motivations and needs with the roles they play to sustain current levels of volunteering and, therefore, the program itself. KeywordsSchool kitchen garden program; volunteering in schools; school-community engagement; benefits and motivations of volunteers

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“…Recent evaluations of school garden projects in Melbourne (Gibbs et al 2009) and the USA (Virginia Tech University 2003) have indicated promising results. These studies are discussed more thoroughly in section 5.5.8.…”

Section: Birch 1993 P 88mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of an Enhanced Extension Agent Training to Create Butterfly Gardens in Louisiana

Fontenot¹,

Morgan²,

Owings³

2015

Journal of Agricultural and Urban Entomology

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Methodology for the evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program

Cited by 17 publications

References 46 publications

“You feel like you’re part of something bigger”: exploring motivations for community garden participation in Melbourne, Australia

“You feel like you’re part of something bigger”: exploring motivations for community garden participation in Melbourne, Australia

Volunteering in a School Kitchen Garden Program: Cooking Up Confidence, Capabilities, and Connections!

The Development of an Enhanced Extension Agent Training to Create Butterfly Gardens in Louisiana

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